Problems continue to mount for Parliament of Zimbabwe after the House of Assembly and Senate were forced to adjourn to mid-November due to serious financial problems.

Scores of lawmakers who live outside Harare had to look for alternative accommodation after hotels in the capital city refused to accommodate them as parliament failed to settle a $600,000 bill.

According to the state-controlled Herald newspaper, some lawmakers also failed to get fuel to return to their constituencies.

Clerk of Parliamant Austin Zvoma is quoted by the paper as saying the treasury has failed to release funds to pay for the legislators’ accommodation.

In a VOA Studio 7 panel discussion, Innocent Gonese, chief parliamentary whip of the Movement for Democratic Change formation of Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai, said sadly parliament has been relegated to just another government branch or department.

Gonese said august house is not being given due recognition by the executive arm of the government.

Zanu PF’s Goromonzi North lawmaker Paddy Zhanda said parliamentarians are not fully using powers of the legislature and in the end blame everything on government.

Zhanda said Zimbabwe has a lot of mineral wealth to pay for such bills and therefore parliament should play its oversight role in monitoring the activities of the state.